This invention relates generally to fitness exercise equipment, more particularly to muscle stretching and spine decompression exercise equipment.
The trends in fitness exercise devices over the past 40 years began with strengthening exercise (resistance training) equipment, then aerobic exercise equipment, and now has evolved to flexibility exercise equipment. This third category of fitness exercise devices has recently emerged to address the need for enhancing muscle stretching and spine decompression. Chronic muscle contraction and spine compression can occur from injury, fatigue, excessive sitting and standing, over or under exercising, and gravity. Even the two prevalent forms of exercise, aerobics and resistance training, tone the muscles through repetitious contraction. Although healthy, this creates an added need for flexibility in order to bring the muscles into a relaxed balance between contraction and extension.
Static and dynamic muscle stretching and spine decompression devices are known in the prior art. Longfellow in U.S. Pat. No. 2,010,766 asserts a device that begins in a relatively flat position and is bent into an arc that is very limited due to the fixed sheet ends being unable to be drawn towards each other.
Ecks in U.S. Pat. No. 2,433,538 also describes a device that begins in a relatively flat position and is bent into an arc that is very limited in range.
Fong in U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,131 asserts a device that requires the user to begin the exercise in a seated position and rotate into a limited arc defined by two constant arcs with only one arc pivoting at a fixed point. These devices limit the user to conforming to the limited arc, which can be too much or too little for the great variety of body types, resulting in either hyperextension or insufficient stretching and/or decompression benefit.
Harlan in U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,150 asserts a means for stretching the leg muscles of a user straddling two hinged sheets. This device requires the user to begin stretching in a raised high degree of arc and then increases the stretch as it flattens the arc.
L. S. C in U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,658 asserts a means for strengthening the mid-section of a user by requiring the user to actively push two pull rods with the user's hands and feet to arc the body until a significant portion of a user's body is in uncomfortably, unsupported positon. The effort to self-support the body weight overhanging the sheet may assist strengthening, but would hinder the relaxation required for flexibility. The user starts in a lying down positon on a sheet that has a significant degree of arc. Due to the relatively short length of that surface, the sheet forms an acute and uncomfortable degree of arc as the mid section of the body is lifted.
None of the above inventions and patents describe a device that allows the support platform to adjust from a substantially flat position to a semi-circular arc with a relatively small radius of approximately 27 Inches.
Current stretching exercise devices tend to be uncomforable and unsafe because tbey do not provide the comfort of full-body support combined with the safety of adjusting to users' needs.
It is an object of this invention to provide a muscle stretching and spine decompression device for exercise and rehabilitation of the soft tissue and joints of the body, while minimizing discomfort and risk of injury.
It is a further object of this invention to facilitate flexibility by providing relaxation and muscle stretching while having a user exert no effort.